No More Wrong Turns

The Compass

Unlike the marker, which marks a certain
spot, the compass is part of the interface and points towards a place in the
environment.

When you move, the marker stays with the world; the compass moves
with you. The marker displays the target's absolute position while the compass
shows its position relative to you.

Continuing the example of Anno from above, the compass is a big
arrow which points to the currently active marker. This arrow, however, is only
visible when the original marker is not on the screen. As the player approaches
the marker, the compass arrow fades out.

This isn't the only instance where marker
and compass are closely intertwined. Quite a few games use a marker for
important objects. However, you want the player to be aware of their existence
and location -- even when they aren't on the screen. This is where the compass
comes in.

A quite classical example of a compass
would be Call of
Duty 4: Modern Warfare. It features a pretty simplistic
compass which displays the cardinal points as well as the direction of the next
objective. The compass changes as the player turns, so if the objective lies in
the center, then it's straight ahead of the player.

Another compass-only system is the
teammate locator in Gears of
War. Here, if a teammate goes down, a circle pops up on the
player's HUD. The circle shows in which direction the wounded buddy is,
relative to the player's position.

Yet another compass style, although one
that's more indirect, is the Jewel Detector of Far Cry 2. This gadget doesn't use a direct arrow to point to the hidden
jewel suitcases. Instead, it features a green light that starts to flash when
the player gets close to one of these cases, increasing in frequency as the
distance decreases. Additionally, the light stays green if the player is
looking directly at the position of these cases.

This roundabout way of doing things
helps make the search for jewel cases a lot more fun, as you actually have to
go look for them and try to triangulate their position. Notably, the detector
is not sensible to differences in altitude: I've found myself standing in an
empty room wondering where the treasure is, while the jewel case sat on the
roof. Of course, a lot of first person shooters also use a compass system to
point a player under fire towards his attacker.

And finally the last example is another
odd one: The sword beam fromShadow of
the Colossus. It is also noteworthy because the game
manages to include a helpful interface without breaking immersion, and while
reinforcing the exploration and discovery themes of the game.

Immersed Navigation Tools

As mentioned before, immersed navigation
tools are a part of the game environment. Unlike discrete tools which are
general interfaces used throughout the game, immersed tools have specific applications
in the individual environments. These tools also don't stand out as much as
discrete ones and generally aren't perceived as a part of the interface.

This
is because they are built out of the components (geometry, textures, lights,
characters...) that are also used to build the environment itself, which makes
them the responsibility of the level designer. It also means that most of them
won't be consciously used by the player. Instead, they serve as subtle
instruments by which to guide the player but with this unobtrusiveness comes
the danger that some players may just overlook them.

The fact that they're an immersed part
of the level also makes them a lot harder to classify. This is why I'm grouping
them based on their purpose. I'll explain each purpose and then give a few
examples on how to achieve the desired effect with different components.

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FoxNExt Games —
San Jose,
California,
United States
[03.20.19]
Producer